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Marauders
The Marauders were, in the beginning, a reclusive and often bloody faction descended from displaced Ultor scientists. They were historically hostile to both the EDF and Red Faction, until they formed an alliance with the Red Faction to push the EDF off Mars. The Cultists were a group of fanatics who were an off-shoot of the Marauders sometime after the Second Martian Revolution, and possibly after the White Faction War. History, Society & Culture In the time after their formation, the Marauders became one of the driving political and military forces on the face of Mars. 'Beginings' After the fall of the Ultor Corporation in the First Red Faction Uprising, the remaining scientists and technicians fled the Ultor mines and facilities and took up the pretense of the Marauders in order to protect their research, technology, and themselves from the Earth Defense Force and the greater population of Mars - now free from the oppression of their corporation. Over time, new generations of Marauders were born, and the disguise born out of necessity was imprinted into the new generations psyche as a culture and way of life, instead of just a facade to mask themselves from the EDF and Red Faction. Decades on the fringes of Martian civilization, persecuted by the EDF and distrusted by the greater Mars population turned them into a bitter and blood-thirsty group. They often attacked the forces of both the Earth Defense Force, the Red Faction and the civilians of Tharsis in a rage against the 'Outlanders.' 'Second Martian Uprising' Samanya, the sister of Vasha, the Marauder's matriarch, left the Marauders during the Battle of Mariner Valley for that very reason, unable to stand the self-destructive anger of her people, and helped re-establish the Red Faction with the help of Dan Mason and Hugo Davies. As a result of their Ultor heritage, the Marauders came to be in possession of the Nano Forge, an Ultor device passed down from their predecessors. The Nano Forge is believed to be the work of Axel Capek, whether just a remnant of his research or a key breakthrough on his behalf it is not clear. The Earth Defense Force was extremely determined to get their hands on the device, but despite their efforts it was Alec Mason and the Red Faction whose hands the Nano Forge fell in to. The Marauders and the Red Faction later formed a shaky alliance during the Battle of Eos where they triumphed over the EDF, pushing them out of the sector and destroying the EDF Central Command. In the following Battle of Mount Vogel they, together with the Red Faction, killed General Bertram Roth and used the Nano Forge combined with an EDF RM-8 Missile they personally stole to destroy the E.D.S. Hydra. Vasha, their leader, died defending the Accelerator in that battle. 'Aftermath' After the Second Martian Revolution, two states formed with one, centred in Eos, belonging to the Red Faction and the other, centred in the Badlands, belonging to the Marauders. Between them lay disputed territory, belonging to neither. Initially peace existed between the two nations. With the death of Vasha, the Marauders came under the control of a new Matriarch, Omaya. The Marauder-Red Faction alliance was broken by the killing of Samanya Mason by the White Faction, though the fact was not known nor their existence and the colonist state blamed it on the Marauders. 'War with the White Faction' It was 25 years after the fall of the EDF, in 2150 CE, that the White Faction, an EDF remanant force, under Adam Hale set the two nations of Mars baying at each others throats. Their masterplan involved the creation of a Severus-Class Dreadnaught, the same model as the Hydra. Tensions began between the leadership of the Red Faction and the leader of the Marauders, the Matriach, when the hulk of the Hydra made planetfall near Bradbury. The Marauder investigative party was killed by White Faction forces and found by the Red Faction team sent for the same end. The Marauders, like everyone unaware of the existence of the White Faction, blamed the colonists. One of the members of the Red Faction party, Jake Mason, son of Alec and Samanya Mason, witnessed the presence of the soldiers in white. Nobody believed his story, however, so he tracked the White Faction down to the Madler Crater, construction site of their dreadnaught, and then escaped with the aide of friends he made among the Marauders, Corvallis and Leonid. The White Faction moved ahead their schedule, firing shells at the Red Faction capital of Eos. Jake arrived to late to warn them of the threat and was believed no more than before, the act attributed to the Marauders. A wing of Red Faction AAX Ravens was dispatched to attack the Marauders, but were called back in the nick of time when the presence of the White Faction became clear. The White Faction dreadnaught in Bakhuysen Trench then positioned to attack the Marauder Palace, but Hale instead ordered it be reaimed at the Terraformer. Alec Mason sacrificed his life to destroy the dreadnaught before it could fire and peace was restored between the two states. Adam Hale managed to survive the carnage and later became the leader of the Cultists. 'Cultist War' The Cultists were a fanatical, extremist offshoot of the Marauders who came to be lead by Adam Hale when he resurfaced after the anhilation of the White Faction. The waged a war on the colonists of Mars which ended when the Cultists stormed the Terraformer. The Red Faction attempt to take them down failed and Hale destroyed it, forcing the entire Martian population to relocate underground. The official wisdom was that the Cultist leader had died, though he survived and went to ground with the Cultist movement. 'The Plague Armageddon' When dialogue stopped with the Colonist state after the Plague were let loose, the Marauder high command initially feared the Red Faction were planning something. They went to red alert. This didn't help, however, and when the Plague stuck they were hit with equal ferocity and surpise. Weapons & Tactics Since 2075, the end of the 'Ultor Uprising' when the Marauders first fled their labs and the rest of the Martian population, their need for weapons and tactics with which to defend themselves became a primary concern of their culture. Their weapons have constantly evolved from archiac and makeshift constructions such as those of the Second Martian Revolution to cutting-edge military tech like the Singularity Cannon. s and Shotguns]] Second Martian Revolution and Earlier During the era of the Second Red Faction Uprising, Marauders mainly used Gutters and improvised Shotguns. A small number of them also carried scavenged EDF weapons such as the Assault Rifle and the Peacekeeper, possessing no real known industrial power. Marauders also had powerful grenades for use against light vehicles. On the heavier side of things they also used the Harpoon Turret on some of their makeshift vehicles, such as the Chomper and Raider, which fired lethal metal bolts at great velocity. In the slightly earlier Battle for Mariner Valley, they also often carried the Spiker, a formidable weapon which did much to combat their traditional lack of mid-to-long range weaponry. Another oft-held weapon used in Mariner Valley is the Impaler, a weapon of similar ilk to the Gutter and which was just as deadly whilst also being more effective against buildings. Other Marauder weapons were utilized as well in a more limited capacity, such as the deadly Missile Pod, their own variants of Remote Charges later used by the Red Faction insurgency and the Skulldigger, a blunt melee tool much akin to the Sledgehammer. Another rare weapon was the Pickaxe. Marauders tactics during the Second Martian Uprising were generally typified by surpise raids in small to medium sized groups against both EDF and Red Faction alike. They had a knack of turning up when both of their enemies were already engaged with each other, often coming from several directions at once in order to overwhelm and surprise targets. Alternately, they also turn up when the defense of their targets is lowest - on their own in the middle of nowhere. There are many accounts of families and miners disappearing in the Badlands. Most active at night, in the Badlands, occasionally in Dust and Oasis, and could also be sighted in the Free Fire Zone after the Earth Defense Force was pushed back. They screeched to warn other Marauders when threatened. The Plague Armageddon and Prior After the defeat of the EDF, Marauder weapons technology progressed in leaps and bound. By the Plague Armageddon, half-a-century later, their technology was barely recognisable from the inspired, but makeshift weapons of the early Marauders. First and foremost, they improved upon the old EDF Singularity Bomb with their own Singularity Cannon - a singular tool of destruction and mayhem. They pushed nanotechnology as their Ultor predecessors had done, mass-producing Nano Rifles and XNG-5000s. They created the Pulse Grenade Launcher. Most of their work, however, was in weapons platforms - vehicles - whereupon the created some of the most lethal in Martian history. Not all of their solutions were cutting edge technology such as the Banshee Pistols. Settlement & Population Since their humble beginnings, the Marauders have expanded into one of the dominant powers on the surface of Mars. 'Early Settlement' The Marauder people first sprung from Ultor scientists fleeing retribution from Earth Defense Force after the First Martian Revolution. They hid themselves in the caves beneath Tharsis, living amongst the distant fringes of Martian civilisation and completely cut off, they went unnoticed for decades. Its unknown exactly when they moved to the surface, occupying the furthest reaches of the Badlands. Obviously some time after the terraforming process was sufficiently advanced, but what is known is some of their earliest settlements. They were known to have a large presence in Mariner Valley and a large remote Badlands Stronghold existed beyond the Irradiated Zone during the Second Martian Revolution. There were also a small abandoned Marauder settlement or two there. 'The Marauder State' Over the quarter-century since the fall of the EDF, the Marauders developed their own nation based centrally in the Badlands. Its center of government being the Marauder Palace. 'The Cultist Split' The Cultists were an offshoot of the Marauders. 'Underground Shift' After the Cultists lead by Adam Hale destroyed the Terraformer, the Marauder people were forced to relocate underground in order to take shelter from the unpredictable weather which ravaged the surface. Clothing & Style The early Marauders developed their own style of dress which was crude, savage and frightening in order to deceive and scare their enemies. They often wore gas-masks and are reputed to have worn human bone. Langauge Most likely to keep up appearances as a backward blood-thirsty bunch of savages, the earlyMarauders seem to have invented and used with their own language - though they still spoke English. Screeches and howls were also often used to pass messages over long distances. Later Marauders seem to have abandoned the practice, though they still used a unique writen langauge. Vehicles Marauders are excellent mechanics and designers, constantly working from scraps salvaged from the colonists. What is more, their vehicles are a key part of projecting their savage persona to the other Martians. There are two types of vehicles which appear in Tharsis, with an additional three in Mariner Valley. Jetter The Jetter was a buggy with one seat and a turret which often appeared in the open wastelands of the Badlands in Tharis. Raider The Raider had platform-like base with three seats, two of which have turrets and often appeared in the open wastelands of the Badlands in Tharis. Punisher The Punisher was a Marauder kind of Heavy Walker which appeared in Mariner Valley. Chomper The Chomper was a fast dune buggy with two seats, a massive rear spoiler and which often has either two mounted machine guns or two Marauder Harpoon Turrets. It appears in Mariner Valley. Stomper The Stomper was a Marauder truck with space for three and a machine gun turret on the back. It appeared in Mariner Valley. Behind the Scenes The Marauders usually wear gas masks (in order to survive in the Irradiated Zone) with spikes on top of their full head masks. They also wear old Ultor scientist clothing (gray pants and long sleved button-up shirts with black trims. They also seem to screech when they feel threatened (most likely to warn other Marauders). It has been stated that the Marauders were modeled after the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars and the Sand People from Mad Max 2. Category:Red Faction: Guerrilla Category:Factions Category:Marauders